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• Duplicate thread - someone delete this please! 4 Jan 2011 (Forum)
  I'm changing my Volvo V70 which is high mileage and getting very expensive to keep going. I'm going to trade it for one of the following and I don't really know which will be the most reliable, given that I will be buying it with approx 100k miles and will take this to 200k over the next 5 or 6 years.
• Ford Focus (1998 - 2004) - which engine - 1.8 or 2.0? 20 Jan 2010 (Forum)
  I've been using the Golf more and enjoying the 50+mpg very much, but SWMBO thinks the S60 is the spawn of the devil (too big, too cumbersome) and can't stand driving it. So, the logical step is for me to take the Golf on, to flog the Volvo, and get SWMBO another Golf-sized car. The one car we both agree on (apart from another Golf) is a Focus mk1. We'll go petrol because the mileage won't justify diesel, but I'm not sure which engine to go for.
• Citroen C5 (2001 - 2008) - 05 3.0 Poor running and rough gearchange 3 Sep 2009 (Forum)
  Other symptoms I've noticed are: -the engine never seems to go into overrun (according to the computer display), even on long downhills with no throttle input from me -the creep on the autobox is so strong when cold, that I can barely hold the car back on the brakes As above, it's a C5 3.0 V6 petrol (35k miles) with the Aisin AM6 gearbox, a.k.a TF80SC, as also used by Ford, Volvo, Vauxhall etc. I know the gearbox should be very smooth, as I've driven other cars with this box and they were fine. Any ideas to go back to the dealer with? There's no codes stored at all.
• 8 speed gear box. Enough? Audi A4 5 Nov 2008 (Forum)
  I have been enjoying a few weeks in the sun. I got a free upgrade from a Passat / Accord / Volvo to an Audi A4 TFSI 1.8 CVT. This Multitronic / Tiptronic version had flappy paddles and EIGHT speeds to play with. I found the gearbox aspect to be very clever. Driving in auto, just a touch of either paddle and it switched out of auto and displayed 12345678 with its choice of gear highlighted.
• Ambulance Service getting a raw deal 20 Oct 2008 (Forum)
  This has been over on Volvo OC for about a week or 2 and I think that it would be beneficial to post over here. If people want to look for the original thread it's in the General thread. "I've had 15! Notice of Intended Prosection for speeding!
• BMW - Business Navigation - Any good? 19 Aug 2008 (Forum)
  I am fortunate enough to be looking seriously at buying a new 5 series BMW 520d Touring to replace my lovely (but less capacious) Volvo S60 D5 S. I have just noticed that BMW are currently offering 'Business Navigation' & a CD changer for just £350 complete for both (saving loads - £1,300), as a special offer. Now I have a Tom Tom 1 Europe, that I stick to the windscreen as and when required (rarely) that I love, and has only once tried to drown me in a river (long story but tried to send me through a no through road crossing a raging torrent (I have a large ammount of common sense (seemingly unlike many people featured in the press publicising their stupidity when they carry on....) so no bad experience).
• What's your favourite feature of your car? 28 May 2008 (Forum)
  Some of the least obvious things can attract someone to a car. For example, I can remember having a Volvo where the heater could be at a different temperature for the passenger. That was good. Other cars have had good economy or handled well or depreciated more slowly. All of those things were good too.
• Skoda - Skoda - VW's problem child 17 Jan 2008 (Forum)
  The superb TDI V6 (27000 pounds) bombed as folks would rather pay for more for a Merc or BMW and the Accord is better value at 23000 pouns Result - Skoda is regarded as a prestige badge - something like what Volvo and Audi were consideried in the early 80's. Now VW want to come in. They launched the Passat 140tdi (assembled here ) for 33000 pounds. Now they want to bring the Jetta in. If they want to pull hierarchy rank, the Jetta will cost more than the Octavia 2 and be as pricey as an Accord.
• Test drives - Availability of lengthy drives. 20 Oct 2007 (Forum)
  Renault offered me a car for a day, subject to signing up to their insurance. I was in it for 4 hours, no problem. Mazda offered me a car for up to 4 hours, as have Volvo, which I'm driving next week. Ford gave me an accompanied test drive for 10 minutes, and said that they won't do any unaccompanied drives. I thought that this might have been because they were a small dealer, but I tried another and got the same response.
• Estate car 3rd row seats & crumple zones 22 Dec 2006 (Forum)
  Thinking rationally about this, I thought there is probably design legislation to prevent placing occupants in a crumple zone, and in any case, even putting morals aside, the likes of Volvo, who offer such seats as an option on the V70, have too much of a safety driven reputation at stake to do it. Sure enough, recently speaking to a dealer I learned that this is so; In the same way that in many car designs front impact forces are passed to the rear of the car to avoid crumpling the passenger cell (look at crash test photos and you often see deformed rear panels from a frontal impact) so the same is true of the rear of a V70; instead of crumpling, rear impact forces will dissipate forwards, in the process deforming the outer body shell along the flanks of the car, whilst bending the rear floorpan as a unit.
• Time for a new car. Please advise. 26 Jul 2006 (Forum)
  Before the Picasso I had a BMW 320 Touring Automatic that I really liked, and wouldn't mind one of those again. Nothing rattled, no bits fell off and somehow it 'felt' well made. I like the look of the Volvo V50 (in silver) too and am going to have a closer look at these tomorrow. Any other thoughts from anyone? What about the Skoda octavia estate? Other info: I mainly do short runs of approx 5 miles a time, plus the odd 100 mile each way journey a couple of times a month.
• 2005 Defender LWB 25 Oct 2005 (Forum)
  Another LR change its actually smooth at 60 on a Motorway, people keep away "who is this fool in a new Landie ?" Forget your Shoguns, VWs, BMW and Volvo pretenders this is real 4x4 motoring, a very British experience; thanks LR for keeping the faith ! Oh and another thing they changed a speedo that was rock steady at every speed !
• estate or not an estate? 14 Sep 2004 (Forum)
  So I have a few choices. 1. bmw 525/530 tds saloon around £13K for a 2000/y 2. audi a4 avant 2000 around £11K but reminds me of passat 3. mg zt-t 130 53 plate £13K 10 miles 4. Volvo 2.5 v70 td £11K 70K miles w reg new shape 5. omega 2.5tds don?t know haven?t looked yet. 6. bmw 325tds too small Any more ideas Not Renault, citroen, I am torn between, comfy oldish motorway cruiser and cheap newish low mpg focus or mondeo.
• BMW 5-Series E61 Touring (2004 - ) - 520d SE - 12,000m report 12 Jun 2009 (Forum)
  Chose black cloth interior in preference to beige or grey, which I thought look dated, and in preference to leather, but interior is very functional and gloomy as a result compared to the lighter Volvo and Mercedes and cloth not as child friendly as dark leather. Seats show no wear but are fairly hard and flat and not as comfortable for the family as Volvo or Mercedes. Black interior shows every hair, dirt etc.
• Renault Clio - Daytime running light and MOT 1 Nov 2024 (Forum)
  Looking back in Honest  John , I found the following , It only says broken , So may have still been working.  Would a broken daytime running light be an MoT fail? My 2013 Volvo V40 offside daytime running light is out - would this be an MoT fail? Asked on  27 January 2020  by  Thomas Walmsley   No, the car will not fail the MoT.
• Return to self 30 Mar 2023 (Forum)
  After a period of motoring instability, swmbo’s need for a posh SUV pushing me to buy a Volvo XC60 that turned out to be a complete pup and her sudden demand to go electric when I flogged the thing to some other poor sod. I have returned to the comfort blanket of a Japanese brand. Today I purchased an immaculate, full history, low mileage 67 plate Honda HRV 1.6 DTEC SE Nav for her to melt tyres and shred brake pads in.
• How far safety has moved on 14 Jun 2020 (Forum)
  Effectively you were dead at the wheel of the Fiat Croma, Honda Legend, Nissan Maxima, Renault 25 and badly injured in a Volvo 740. You would’ve walked away from the recently launched BMW 5 series and the Mercedes E class but the rest were mangled. It’s an eye opener into how poor cars were structurally before the 1990’s and a big thank you should be directed to the magazine for saving lives at great expense to themselves.
• Lots of cool retro cars on tv these days 14 Apr 2017 (Forum)
  I recently watched the first series of Stan Lee's Lucky Man, and while i wasnt very impressed with the series otherwise, James Nesbitt's character drove a very sweet E28 5 series BMW. Of course there was 'Luther' with Idris Elba, who was driving a volvo 240 in the first series, though i think that changed to a 740 or 940 in later series. I also seem to remember a Jensen Intercepter turning up at some point! (possibly an early 7 series BMW too, or did i imagine that?!).
• Right. Time for a rant 28 Oct 2012 (Forum)
  Aside from the very brave man in the pink lycra I saw on Thursday, every cyclist is either a moron or a pensioner who frankly deserves to end up under a wheel to thin out the pensions bill. Oh and you in the T Reg silver Volvo who pulled out in front of me when I was about 6cm from the junction today. I'm watching you. I'm watching you. P.S Glad to be back.
• Jaguar X-Type Estate - Questioning HJs review 14 Jan 2012 (Forum)
  I may be in the market soon for an Estate, me being me, I want something a little exclusive, me being me I like my leather and luxury, and as readers may know, I like my Jags I always remember Top Gear (JC) reviewing a X type estate very favourably, it beat a Volvo Estate (don't remember which one) in a group test. I liked the improved front end treatment after final facelift. I like the interior as it also improved in the later years, and was thinking of going to see this at the weekend.